Butterfly Effect
by Shinara66
Summary: Set during 'The Musical' ep. Teddy and Arizona have a conversation while an unknown guest receives shocking revelations as a result.


**A/N: **So, this popped into my head after watching all the sneaks for next week's episode. I wrote this in about an hour so, hopefully, it's still enjoyable. lol.  
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** Butterfly Effect:  
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An accident is defined as: an undesirable or unfortunate happening that occurs unintentionally and usually results in harm, injury, damage, or loss; casualty; mishap: automobile accidents.

_Automobile accidents._

_Injury._

_Casualty._

In the blink of an eye, lives can be changed forever. A weekend away, meant to bring two women back to each other can be transformed into an argument over boundaries, priorities, and what actually defines a relationship.

That argument, like the weekend, is so too, effected by the infinite number of changes that can occur in the blink of an eye. From an argument, desperation ensues and a question is born on the lips of a person struggling to be seen and heard and valued.

The question is not of a light weight class. No, it is the last, valiant attempt for one person, one person desiring a place of importance, to cement themselves, forever, in the life of another. It's a question people are asked many times in life, whether in jest or in truth, that, when taken seriously, has the opportunity to change the outcome, the course, of two distinct people's paths on life's journey.

The question?

_Will you marry me..._

And faster than one can process the words, the meaning, the enormity of the question, an accident can occur and result in "harm, injury, damage, or loss..."

The blink of an eye.

The flap of a butterfly's wings.

Infinite possibilities in such an infinitesimal span of time...

* * *

Arizona Robbins sat in an empty consult room. Her thoughts were chaotic, disorganized, and self loathing. Her insides were in such a crazed amount of turmoil, her body was on the verge of shutting down and leaving her nothing more than a husk; a shell.

She'd gone from panicked, to terrified, to sick in less than thirty seconds after she'd seen Callie's body thrown through the windshield of her car. Blood, Callie's blood, had been visible on the shattered pieces of glass on the hood and the shallow, halting, scared breathing emanating from Callie's broken body had taken away nearly all the logical thought she possessed.

The next set of events were a blur to Arizona. She remembered calling the hospital. There had been a man, the truck driver, and then just the sounds of the ambulance as they'd rushed she and Callie to the E.R.

Her colleagues had been waiting when the ambulance arrived and, no sooner had the doors opened, Callie had been whisked away from her, eyes wide and blood scarring her perfect face.

There had been questions, she remembered.

_What happened?_

_Was she wearing her seat belt?_

_How had neither of them noticed the truck?_

Of all the questions she'd been asked, and by all the various people who had posed them, only Mark's question and her answer was clear in her mind.

_"I asked her to marry me and then this truck just...came out of nowhere."_

She'd asked Callie to marry her. She'd been desperate. She loved Callie. She needed Callie, but ever since she'd come back from Africa, Callie had been different. She'd been...distant. She'd refused to acknowledge Arizona's pain, her grief, her heartache, her concerns, her worries, her insecurities.

Often times, Arizona had felt as if, perhaps, Mark and Callie enjoyed watching her squirm. Maybe it was a game between them. As hard as she'd tried, she'd never been able to just...fit in with them. Even when she tried to just fit in with Callie, Mark had always been there and left her feeling inadequate and useless.

She shook her head ruefully at her inner thoughts. None of that mattered now. It was behind them. Callie was fighting for her life. Nearly every attending, resident, and competent intern in the hospital was currently deep in one major surgery or another all in the hopes of saving her...girlfriend's? life.

She'd managed to watch the first few hours of surgery, but the bile steadily rising to her throat, had forced her to leave and find her hallowed seclusion.

Nothing added up to her. Nothing made sense. Things hadn't made any small amount of sense since she came back from Africa. She'd left to do good. She'd left to honor commitments, like her father had raised her. She'd thought she was doing the right thing by having Callie remain behind. She'd only wanted her partner to be happy. Even if that happiness hadn't been with her.

When she'd she realized how miserable she was in Africa, she'd come home. Her,marine brat-honor-your-duty-don't-date-a-newborn Arizona Robbins. She'd left her grant, her project, her dream to come back and be with Callie.

What a sick joke.

Callie had barely grieved her absence before falling back on old habits and screwing Mark Sloan. How many times, she'd didn't care to know. It had hurt her that Callie had been able to sleep with someone else so soon after she'd left. To this day, she wasn't even sure if Callie felt badly about doing it or if she realized how badly her act had hurt her.

The news had been shocking and painful, but Arizona had still fought for Callie. She'd still tried to reconcile. Having a door slammed in her face, being blown off and told to go back to Africa, being accused of being untrustworthy, selfish, and a slew of other equally endearing names, and Arizona had still pursued the woman she loved.

Callie. It had always been Callie. Even when she'd wished that wasn't case.

Callie.

Calliope.

It had always been her.

But, Callie hadn't kicked her where it really hurt. No, the looks, the jabs, the insults, and the anger had all been above the belt. Callie had saved her lowest blow for last. She'd kept it hidden within her arsenal just waiting to hit her where she'd known it would do the most damage.

Not only had the woman she loved more than anything slept with her biggest insecurity, she'd also gotten pregnant by him. A baby. A constant reminder of the fact that Mark Sloan was able to give her girlfriend something else she couldn't.

Despite the knowledge and Callie's insufferable attitude, Arizona had promised she was all in. How could she not be? She loved Callie. Yet, the months that had followed her promise had only proven to be a further test of her patience and resolve.

Mark, if at all possible, had become even more annoying. She'd rarely gotten a moment alone with Callie. When she'd expressed her displeasure, Callie had blown her off, called her names, and sided with Mark.

Mark.

He was perfect. To Callie, anyway.

One month had turned into two and then three and as time had progressed, Arizona had lost more and more of herself. Callie never saw her and as the days had continued to blend together, Arizona had realized that she was no longer able to see _herself._

Her relationship with Callie had, somehow, become Mark and Callie's relationship with her watching on the sidelines. Nothing she'd tried or done had seemed to have any bearing on Callie's behavior. No matter how she'd approached the subject, she was always the one who'd come out looking like the bad guy.

When Callie had presented her with the bed and breakfast getaway weekend, she'd thought that the two of them would finally be able to reconnect. She'd felt like she was slowly drowning and Callie had finally thrown her a life line.

Yeah right. Their weekend trip away, before it had really even begun, had been interrupted by none other than Mark Sloan. Despite knowing that Callie was with her, for the weekend, he'd still contacted her and brought his troubles to her plate.

She'd been flabbergasted. All she'd wanted was 48 hours alone with her girlfriend. She'd wanted two days where there was no talk of baby showers and guest lists and Mark and parenting. She'd just wanted a weekend with Callie. Alone.

She'd been asking too much. Callie had been unable to understand her behavior. She'd called her jealous. Another shallow cut. They'd argued. Again.

Arizona had barely been able to breathe. What had she been doing wrong? Why couldn't Callie see her? Did she love her at all? What was her place in Callie's life? Her role?

Desperate times had called for desperate measures.

So, she'd done the only thing she could think of. She'd asked the one question that carried with it a promise of the ultimate commitment. If that didn't open Callie's eyes, then she'd not known what other course was left to her.

_Mishap._

As if the universe had been against her, she and Callie had been in a car accident and now nothing seemed real to her. Nothing mattered. She was adrift. She was alone.

She was scared.

* * *

"Arizona?"

Arizona lifted her head up from where it had been resting against her knees. Her body ached and dried tears stained her face.

When she saw Teddy standing in the doorway of the consult room, her eyes widened and fresh tears waited for the news she'd been dreading.

"Teddy...is she...did she...?" she couldn't seem to get the words to form on her lips. Their taste left her unable to complete her sentence.

Teddy closed the door behind her and walked across the room. Her scrub cap was still on her head and she'd not yet changed from her surgical scrubs.

"She's still alive, Arizona. I finished up and came to find you."

Nodding at the news, though she barely heard a word of it, Arizona swallowed the tight knot that had formed in her throat and met her friend's eyes.

"How...how is she?" she asked in a small voice.

Teddy paused for a moment, the weight of her inner struggles visible in her hazel green eyes.

"She's...she...it's still touch and go, Arizona. Derek and Dr. Montgomery are still working on her."

Arizona was unable to elicit from her body any type of reaction. She felt like she was dreaming. Callie couldn't be hanging between the realms of life and death. She was supposed to be here, with her, at their weekend getaway.

She was supposed to be answering Arizona's question.

"I asked her to marry me." she blurted out, though her voice was whimsical and seemed to become lost in the room.

Teddy smiled, more an attempt than an actual display of happiness, and nodded her head.

"Congratulations, Arizona. That's...that's great."

Arizona shook her head and closed her eyes. Tears fell down her face and burned painfully with her emotions.

"No, it's not."

"Why do you say that, honey?"

Opening her eyes and looking at Teddy, Arizona licked her lips that had become salty from her tears.

"She...didn't...she wasn't...able to give me an-an...answer. The truck..."

Teddy sat down in a chair next to Arizona and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Feeling her friend's body shake with the powerful release of her emotions broke her heart.

"You know she'll say yes, Arizona."

Sniffing and wiping away at tears, Arizona sighed and looked up at the ceiling.

"No I don't."

"What do you mean? Of course she'll say yes. She'll make it through this, Arizona. She'll come back for you."

Arizona laughed and continued to wipe away at the tears that refused to stop falling. Running her hands through her hair and resting her elbows on her knees, she turned her face back to Teddy.

"She'll come back for the baby. She'll come back for Mark. But me? I'm not her dream, Teddy. I don't even factor into it. I don't have a place in her life. Not anymore." she trailed off.

Teddy couldn't believe the words she was hearing. Was it grief making her friend say such things? Worry? Anguish? Surely Arizona did not truly believe what she was saying.

"Arizona...Callie loves you-"

"Does she? I've bent over backwards since I got back, Teddy. I've put up with Mark always being around. I promised to help raise and love her baby. I've..she doesn't see it. I'm...convenient for her and it's just taken me a long time to realize that. I was...I was a continuation of her girl on girl experiment."

"Arizona-"

"Don't, Teddy. I love her. I mean, I _love_ her. She's miraculous. I've thought so since I first laid eyes on her. All I've ever wanted was for her to love me the way that I loved her. I didn't want to be like all the others. I wanted to matter. I wanted to be...important."

"You are important, Arizona."

"Not to her. She doesn't need me. I have no place. Mark is who she wants."

Teddy nearly fell off her chair at the absurdity of what she'd just heard. There was no possible way Arizona actually thought that Callie was in love with Mark!

"I mean...she's always turned to him when things went bad. She tells him things she doesn't tell anyone else. They share secrets. They've slept together numerous times. And now, now they're going to have a baby together and as much as she says I'm an equal in all of that, we both know that isn't true. It's their baby. It'll always be their baby. What does she need from me that she can't get from Mark? I can't even get a weekend with her..."

"Arizona, I know this situation sucks. You're a hell of a better person than I am because I would have bailed a long time ago. Callie knows it sucks, too. She's just...she's just confused."

Shaking her head again and biting the inside of her lip, Arizona was silent for a long while. She wasn't playing the blame game. She wasn't having a pity party. She was finally acknowledging the truth that she'd been refusing to see the past several months.

"I'll make it easier on her, then." she said suddenly, startling Teddy.

"What?"

"I'll make it easier for her." Arizona repeated. "If...if she survives...if she pulls through, then I'll tell her goodbye."

At the words, her voice cracked and slow, stricken, sobs interrupted her.

Teddy was floored. Her eyes widened and the hand she'd placed on Arizona's shoulders stopped moving.

"Goodbye? What are...what...?"

"I'll leave her alone, Teddy. I'll...I'll let her be happy with Mark or whoever she finds. It's obvious I'm not the person to her that I thought I was." Looking down at her hands, she added, "That I wanted to be. I love her. That isn't enough, though. So, I'll make sure she's okay and then I'll let her know that she doesn't owe me anything anymore. I'll let her go so she can be happy. Her baby is her dream and, maybe, she'll find someone who can complete that dream. I just...w-want her to be happy. Even if it's not with me..."

Teddy moved from the chair to the floor in front of Arizona's feet. Her friend's woeful tone of voice, as well as the sad and mournful words she spoke, were too much for Teddy. She'd seen how Callie looked at Arizona. She knew Callie loved her. Arizona had to know that, too. She was speaking nonsense.

"Arizona, I don't know what all's been going on and I know I'd be tired if I had to see Mark on a daily basis in my personal life, but Callie does love you. You can't leave her. She needs you here."

Wiping a hand across her nose, Arizona snorted and shook her head again.

"If she needed me, Teddy, she would have made that known a long time ago. Our conversations revolve around Mark. Our alone time is spent talking about what a great father Mark is going to be. She hasn't let me touch her in months. We sleep away from each other at night. Mark makes her breakfast, dinner, even gives her foot massages. Where, in all of that, do you see that she needs me? It's Mark, Teddy. I fought for her, okay? I tried. I just...I lost."

Teddy opened her mouth to offer words of support, of comfort and belief, but her pager beeped and immediately put her on alert.

Arizona's eyes, wet and red, met hers and she started shaking her head fervently.

"No, no...please tell me she's okay...is she...Teddy..."

Teddy stood up and regarded her with a pained expression. "I've got to go. I'll let you know something as soon as I can. She does love you, Arizona."

With that parting statement, Teddy rushed from the room and left Arizona alone with her thoughts.

With her pain.

With her misery.

Her body collapsed against her chair and a fresh wave of tears and gut wrenching sobs left her soul.

* * *

In a corner, behind the door, in a darkened section of the room, a woman watched on with stunned disbelief. The woman, unable to interact, to offer solace, could only look upon the blonde with sad eyes that reflected the turmoil that she felt.

The woman walked closer, her eyes studying the form before her with, nearly, scientific interest. As she came to rest next to her, the woman shook her head and opened her mouth. How had she been so stupid? So unaware? So blind?

How had she not seen the suffering of the one person who meant the most to her? How could she have allowed the most precious being in the world to feel unwanted and unloved? She'd been so selfish...

Squatting next to the small body crying heavily in the chair before her, the woman reached out a hand and searched for a connection.

Hand hovering just above a head full of dark blonde hair, the woman felt a warm wetness on her face and immediately recognized it as tears.

"I do love you, Arizona." the woman said, her voice wavering. "I've always loved you...always. You mean the world to me and I'm sorry I ever made you feel like you weren't important to me. You are, baby. You're my dream, my perfect dream come true."

Arizona cried, oblivious to her presence. Her body shook violently and her tears were causing her to cough and nearly choke on them. Words, slurred and hard to make out, were spoken and promised to the heavy silence of the room.

The woman could do nothing but watch, helpless and pained.

"Yes, Arizona." she said, hand still wishing for physical contact.

"I'll marry you."


End file.
